Bond revoked in neglect case

Defendant tested positive for drugs prior to hearing

December 6, 2012

MARTINSBURG - A Martinsburg man scheduled to plead guilty to a charge of felony gross child neglect Wednesday saw his bond revoked after he failed a court-ordered drug test.

John M. Cook, 31, of Buxton Street, was indicted in May by a Berkeley County grand jury on one count of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of bodily injury in connection with a May 8, 2011, incident in Martinsburg.

He had accepted the terms of a proposed plea agreement in September that could have seen him plead guilty to the single-count indictment. Under the terms of the agreement, he could have been sentenced to five years of probation and would have been required to register with the state's child abuse registry.

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John M. Cook

He appeared in Berkeley County Circuit Court Wednesday for what was originally scheduled to be a plea and sentencing hearing.

Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely said she moved the court to have Cook drug tested after he failed to show up to a meeting with the court's probation department as part of the pre-plea investigation process.

The plea agreement was subsequently set aside and a trial date was scheduled for February, but there is still a possibility the case could be resolved through plea negotiations, the prosecutor said.

According to court records, Cook was arrested last year after the Martinsburg Police Department received a complaint reporting a naked child had been left unattended outside of Cook's residence. A woman told police she found the naked 2-year-old in her backyard and the child had remained in her custody for an hour.

Police entered Cook's home after getting no response from inside. He was found asleep in a back bedroom of the residence with a spilled drink in his lap. Cook didn't respond to officers yelling at him, and he only woke up after police shined a flashlight in his face, records show.

Cook appeared to be under the influence of drugs and told police he had taken methadone and cough syrup. He consented to a search of his home, during which police located a snorting straw containing white powder on along with several pill bottles, some of which contained unknown pills, records show.

Police also found a box containing a marijuana-smoking device, a snorting straw and marijuana residue.

As of Wednesday, Cook was being held at Eastern Regional Jail without bail while awaiting future court proceedings.